For the last four years I have
been involved in a series of works that I call
"The Cadence of Stupidity". This is a focus of
works that draw from the original Pinocchio
story written in 1870 by Carlo Collodi, a
writer of children's story. The works tell of
the relationship between the Blue Haired Fairy
and Pinocchio. The works are an amalgamation
of other references as well: a combination of
the Italian Baroque, the 19th century male
invention of woman as whore/goddess, and my
personal dealings with self deprecation.

These works are not actually
illustrations of the Collodi story, instead
they are inventions of possible fictions. The
later works also deal with Pinocchio's want to
be something he is not He denies his origin
and strives for a life that we assume has a
happy ending. Also the fact that Pinocchio
(the man) will grow old and die and will be
survived by the Blue-haired fairy (the female)
is the way of our world. Woman survives man
and tells the story of man from the woman's
point of view.

The works are very layered and
have many possibilities of interpretation.
"Service at the Villa" is a piece that takes
place long after Pinocchio has died. The Blue
Haired fairy rests on a mound of dirt
remembering Pinocchio. Her dress has a memory
of Pinocchio which depicts his awareness of
the tree that is his origin. She is unaware
that below where she sits and below the strata
rests the head of poor Pinocchio, his light no
longer lit.

In "What Tool Must I Use ( to
separate the earth from the sky)" the costumed
Pinocchio sits as a sage who tells the story
of how he was once a young dunce in the world
of man. At once we notice that the head of
Pinocchio is actually a headdress that is worn
by a young girl: the survivor and holder of
the telling of the myth and legend.